We hear the people before we see them. There's shouting and cursing and thumping... on Solomon and Katherine's door. When the people see us, they rush down the hallway towards us, yelling. It makes my headache go from bad to worse, making my brain feel like it has blisters.
"How could you spend all that time searching for that kid?" hollers one man out of the crowd of about 20. "The Motos were about to round us up and take us away. Looking for one delinquent put us at risk. You took our sentries off watch and the lighters out of Luminia. Shame on you."
Solomon shoulders slump and his head hangs low.
"Please, not in front of the children," he mutters. "They're my charges. The Waterstealer took her and she's important."
"More important than the rest of us?" asks the man, pounding his fist into his hand. "You never asked what the rest of us think. For your information, that Waterstealer is about as scary as sand."
"I'm sorry," says Solomon. His brow furrows as he tries to come up with the words to calm the angry mob.
It's an intimidating atmosphere. The hallway is tight and we're all pressed up against each other. I turn sideways to avoid the mushroom flavour breath of a woman who has her face centimetres away from mine. Nasty. Solomon reaches past her and grabs my hand, pulling me in front of him.
"Listen," he says. "We'll have more discussions tomorrow. Right now it's time for all of us to get some rest. We should all begin packing too. Our journeys to our hometowns are coming up in a couple of days. Be ready. It'll be a long journey."
My sore head is bombarded with thoughts. One right after the other. Calgary. Rassel. Dad. Elody. Mum. Finally we'll be on the move and I'll be able to do what Dad wanted.
The crowd disperses with some growls and backward glances at me.
"Trunken is scary," I say as loud as I can. Can't one person agree with me? "Solomon, this isn't my fault."
He pats my broken head.
"Shh, shh," he chides.
"What did you mean when you said I was important?" I ask.
"We're all important," he soothes. "Everyone in Nakimu brings something to the settlement. Katherine and I bring leadership. Adam brings security. You and your sister and Hyla bring youth. We all work together for a better future."
"Right."
"Time for sleep," says Solomon. "You haven't had much tonight and it's almost morning."
We head to our hollows with his kinds words smoothing the cracks in my mind.
I turn to wave goodbye to him and my hand wilts in mid-air. Solomon is staring after us: arms crossed, lips pursed, eyes narrowed.
My mentor's aggressive stance throws me and I walk faster to catch up with my sister and Hyla. I wait until we're out of earshot to tell them about what Trunken told me.
"He said we're in danger here?" asks Hyla. "Like danger danger? From whom?"
"Keep your voice down!" I say. "Maybe he meant Nakimu?"
"People are nice here," says Crinae. "It was Trunken who hit you."
"I don't know what he meant," I say, "but I never want to see that little Waterstealer as long as I live."
I gulp. Solomon never did tell me if they caught Trunken. He might be slouching about the corridors?
"Do you want to stay with us?" Crinae asks Hyla, who is about to head to her own chamber. Solo.
"Nah. Trunken doesn't bother me," Hyla says with a wave of her hand. She skips away to her room leaving me and my sister to crawl into bed.
"Don't leave me ever again," whispers Crinae once she's under the covers.
"I couldn't help it," I murmur. "Go to sleep."
"Ok," she says, snuggling deeper into the blankets. Crinae drifts off to lalaland easily as usual. I lie awake thinking about what Trunken said. I rub the bump on my noggin that's the size of an orange. It's times like these I wish my parents were here. They would know what to do. Mom would take my hand and tell me everything would be fine. Dad would put his hand on my shoulder and I would feel his strength and know he would protect me.
***
The morning arrives quickly. I feel like I haven't slept a wink but at least my headache is gone, even if the lump isn't. Hyla's the one to wake us up.
"Get a move on sleepy heads," she sings to us. "We're going to the assembly hall with Katherine."
It amazes me how Hyla is so super moody. Grouchy one moment and happy the next. Can't she ever be normal?
Katherine has a smile on her face but a frown in her eyes when she greets us. She's trying to be cheery but it's forced. There's a hint of agitation in her voice when she tells us breakfast is made and on the table.
"Sit down," she says. "Now."
It's more of an order.
"I need you to eat quickly and leave."
"Sure," says Crinae, acting as the peacemaker. "How are you this morning?"
"Fine," Katherine answers brusquely. "Eat up."
Man, she's being weird. Why is she being strange? She has a blankness to her face and it transforms her from pleasant to scary.
"Did Adam find any sign of the Waterstealer?" I ask.
Katherine whips around. Her brown hair flying into her face. She impatiently flips it out of her eyes.
"What? Aren't you over that yet? You have 10 minutes left so you'd better eat or else you'll go hungry."
We finish our meal, in the allotted time limit, and then are trotted to the assembly hall. There are a lot fewer people here than the last meeting, a lot less. The place isn't even half-full.
Katherine takes her place with Solomon at the front. They sit alone and chat between themselves for a while before talking to the settlers.
"All right," Solomon says, "I'll start. There was a little bit of a commotion yesterday."
"A bit of commotion?!" interrupts a man, the same man who was yelling at Solomon early, very early, this morning. "Try a full on fight with the Motos!"
"It wasn't a fight, Kieth," says Solomon. "More like a skirmish. There were only two of them."
"I don't call guns firing and flying fists a skirmish," screeches Kieth. "That was full-on combat and half of our soldiers weren't there to help. They were off looking for Miss Half-Reg, Half Aeternian."
That stings. I'm full Aeternian.
"It's lucky I'm a Pryanae," continues Kieth. "Otherwise we would have been toast. Not them. What happens when a whole army of Motos come to Nakimu? What do we do then?"
"They won't because that's not our arrangement," says Solomon, quietly. "Those two Motos weren't supposed to be here. They were aberrations."
The near-empty chamber echoes with voices seeking answers. Katherine takes the next opportunity to speak. She waits until there's a break in the confusion before she begins.
"It's time," she announces. "It's time to leave for the census. But not just for that, it's time to leave the comfort of the settlement and make ourselves known. It's time to take our knowledge and bring it to the other Aeternians. It's time to become the energy that will weaken Sebastian. It's time to push back!"
She says the last sentence with such conviction most of the people rise to their feet and roar with approval.
"Yes!!!" shouts Katherine to the farthest corner of the rock room. "We will be the storm that rips into Sebastian's world. We will be the thunder and the lightning and the wind and the rain and we will never, ever relinquish our fight!"
Kieth and some others aren't here to add to Katherine's war cry. They must have slipped out without me seeing them leave. We're better without them. Those who don't believe in what we're going to do, don't belong with us. Hyla was right about that.
"Gather what you can," says Katherine. "Food and a change of clothing. Take nothing you can't carry. Solomon decided that we're leaving this afternoon. Go. Go now."
The collection of people get up and start for their homes. They all have determined looks on their faces and hold no fear in their eyes. Except for one settler. Solomon. I see his face for a brief moment before he's carried away on the wave of Nakimites. His eyes bulge and he's white. I bet his hands are shaking too.
Me, Crinae and Hyla are almost the last ones out of the chamber. We go to Solomon and Katherine's to await instructions.
"Oh," says Katherine. "I have your old things."
She goes into the back bedroom and returns with our clothing from home.
"They've been washed and mended," she says, chucking them at us. "This stuff is better than the thin cotton clothing you've been wearing here. Change and then bring your stuff here."
She waves us out into the corridor and disappears into her home. Hyla goes to collect her things and Crinae and I run to put on our new old clothes. I make sure I take out the piece of amber I've been keeping at my waist and stick it in my stocking.
"What are you doing to your sock?" asks Crinae.
"Uh, nothing. Just fixing it so it doesn't roll down my leg."
"You put something in it."
"What? No, I didn't."
"Yeah, you did. I saw you."
It's going to take too long to unravel the full story about the amber and we were told to pack quickly.
"It's something Dad gave me," I say. "He told me not to tell anybody about it so keep your lips zipped."
"Dad? When?"
"Right before he was taken. You have to shut up about it."
"You shut up."
We grabbed the bags that we had brought from home and go out into the hallway where Hyla's waiting. She also has a small pack.
"We're supposed to hurry," she snaps. "What were you doing?"
"Hurrying," I say.
She crosses her arms and stomps her foot and then stalks away. We follow behind and get to Katherine and Solomon's as they're bickering over some last items to add to their backpacks.
"The photo albums are too heavy," says Solomon to Katherine, picking up one of the books. "They'll weigh you down. We need that room for food."
"I'm not leaving without my kids," says Katherine, grabbing the album out of his hands.
"Then take a couple of pictures out. Don't take the whole thing."
She opens the book and turns several pages before picking a couple to take. She puts them in the top pocket of her pack and then goes to the cupboards. She piles apples, bananas, tomatoes, zucchini and some canned beans into her bag.
The mood in the room is tense, like a pot about to boil. It's like Katherine is angry with Solomon. She's not looking at him and when he comes near her she flinches.
"Stop doing that, Katherine," he says when she recoils as he walks by. "This is for your own good."
"My own good?"
"All of us," says Solomon, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.
She wipes it off with the back of her hand.
"When we're on the road you girls will have to be responsible for yourselves," Solomon says. "Katherine and I have to take care of the whole community. We can't only worry about you."
That's harsh. Not that we can't take care of ourselves but he makes it sound like we never could in the first place. We got here, didn't we?
I look over at Crinae. There are no tears but she's staring at the floor, her little face scrunched up, trying not to cry. Hyla appears to be fine.
"It's time to go," says Solomon and we march out to the entrance of Nakimu where the rest of the settlers are gathered. There are families with babies on their backs, women carrying baskets of food, men dragging sleds filled with supplies and seniors holding small bundles. There's quiet talk amongst the people that gets louder when they see their leaders.
I feel a bit shaky. I'm kind of excited. Kind of nervous. Finally, we're off to Calgary. Finally, we're moving towards finding my family. Finally, we're doing something useful.